My Father's Name
by HarryPotter'sgirl17
Summary: Harry Potter loves his father, Remus Lupin, very much. He even remembers bits and pieces of his 'other daddy' James Potter, as well. Yet, all that changes when he is introduced to the world of magic and all the secrets buried there...
1. Preface: How We Got Here

Preface: How We Got Here

"Daddy!" That cry, from the very first time it had left those lips, always made his heart leap against his chest; no matter what form it came in, or what distance it came from. To him, it was a call of promise, a call of hope, and a call of love.

He had been hesitant, at first, in answering to that call. It wasn't that he didn't love the child, he did, he truly did, more than anything that ever walked this Earth or ever would. It was that he didn't want to erase the memory of the boy's real father and was unsure at how he would do at being a 'daddy'; yet, as the cry became more and more frequent, his initial doubts faded away.

"What's up, cub?" Little feet had slammed their body into him, almost knocking him over; little hands had grasped at his trousers, wide emerald eyes looking up at him in idolization from under a fringe of impossible-to-comb ebony hair as the three-year-old spoke with a smile that nearly split his face in half.

"I wove you!"

Oh, those words, spoken so easily, so carelessly. His little cub had no idea just how much power those words had; just how they made him, considered by many to below the lowest of creatures, feel to be entrusted with the most precious of emotions that stemmed from this little boy. It also brought to the forefront of his mind the memory of how this greatest of gifts came into his life...

_He had been wandering around the streets of London in a painful daze, unable to think clearly, unable to accept what he had been told by the other members of the Order of the Phoenix; that James and Lily Potter were dead, betrayed by their Secret-Keeper, no one knew where Harry was or if he was even alive, Severus, their spy in Voldemort's ranks, had vanished the same night Harry did, and Peter Pettigrew had been killed by their best friend; Sirius Black, the man who had supposedly betrayed James and Lily._

_He couldn't believe that Lily and James were dead, not with all the precautions and Charms they had taken and set up to ensure their safety, baby Harry's safety. If he believed they were dead, it would follow that Harry would be dead as well and the little tyke had so much more in life to see, he had just started to live it..._

_Severus had earned the grudging respect of the Marauders after he kept silent about Remus' 'furry problem' as James always called it, and it had deepened into something more for Remus when Severus had rescued Lily from Voldemort's grasp, even James had said he wasn't 'entirely a slimy git'. Hearing that he had vanished was a stab to the heart. Maybe he was just laying low, making sure everything was all clear..._

_Peter being dead wasn't that much of a surprise; he was always crummy at Defense. It wasn't like he hated the bloke, but his death didn't hit as hard as the others. Besides, being killed by Sirius? The man who protected his friends as fearsomely as his Animagus form? After Peter reveled that Sirius had given James and Lily over to Voldemort? __**Sirius**__? That just wasn't possible..._

_Yet the whole world insisted it was, shoving it into his face like some horrible nightmare; Godric Hollow had been destroyed, James and Lily just buried, Harry disappeared into the ether, Severus hadn't been heard from since Harry gone missing, the only remains of Peter that they found were a single finger and Sirius was rotting in Azkaban without the precautions of a trial. Once again, like most of his wretched life, he was all alone._

_Stumbling over a curve and falling onto hard cement, he just lay there, letting the overwhelming nothingness of his existence flow over him; he had no home, no family or friends, he couldn't get a job because people treated him, at best, like some sort of horrible monster, and the only people in this world that he ever loved were either dead, imprisoned, or missing._

**Send me a sign,** _he remembered asking that of the sky, the sun, even the white letters that spelled out 'Privet Drive' on the sign above his head. Anything and anyone that would listen to his silent plea. _**Please, Merlin, send me a sign that my life is still worth living...**

_"Harry, you are suppose to play over __**there**__!" A voice cut through his morbid thoughts, almost hitting a range he had only heard in opera singers on the telly. "Leave my Duddykins alone! Those are not your toys!"_

**Harry. James' son was Harry, named after an uncle who died fighting Voldemort. Harry. Lily named their son Harry in honor of James' uncle after only an hour of pestering**_. _**Harry... **_The thoughts bounded around his skull like a Bludger, flowing down his legs like electricity and pushed him to his feet, making him follow the voice that called out the name of his best mate's son._

_"I swear boy," The voice was closer now, familiar in an unpleasant sort of way, "if you crawl an inch closer to my Diddypoo, I'll- eek!"_

_He had haphazardly burst through the hedges then, cutting off the woman's threat and making her scream as she darted over to her whale of a son, heave the boy up into her arms and dash into the house, leaving the child called Harry sitting in the dirt, utterly confused._

_Then the most incredible thing in his entire life, including meeting James, Lily, Sirius, Peter __**and**__ Severus, happened; the boy raised his head and turned to him, giggling out his nickname, a name only his closest friends knew, only his closest friends even understood;_

_"Moon-knee!"_

_"Merlin's staff..." He had sunk to his knees as he gazed in wonderment at the child crawling toward him. It was Harry, all right; James' unruly hair, growing in a little puff on his head, Lily's sparkling, emerald eyes and a wide, trusting smile that belonged to Harry alone._

_Apparently, his little journey tired Harry out, for as soon as the little miracle made it to 'Moon-knee's lap, he laid down and promptly took a nap, leaving the man holding him to whisper a single sentence over and over as the tears he had held in himself for so long finally fell._

_"Thank you, Merlin. Thank you so much, thank you..."_

_He had received his sign._

It hadn't taken very long for him to convince the woman to give up the little boy that was now wrapped around his legs, it had taken much longer, not to mention much more of a headache, to convince the Lily's sister that he wasn't after **her** son as well. He just thanked whoever listened to his earlier plea that she was in too much of a rush to get rid of Harry to ask too many questions.

The real kick in the teeth had been that **Dumbledore** had sent the boy to these people, to this woman who obviously favored her own son above her nephew, that treated Harry like some old rag to be thrown away. That **Dumbledore**, the man he had trusted since childhood, had known and had not said a single word to him, hadn't even simply stated that Harry was alive and being cared for, simply pretended ignorance like everyone else.

So he returned the favor; taking Harry and all of his things, few that they were, he brought them to his parent's home and made a life for them. He taught Muggle children at the preschool/kindergarten that Harry went to and cut them off from the wizarding world completely. He even removed them from the Floo network so that there would be no unexpected visitors. Harry may not have had all the luxuries that he so rightfully deserved, but he had plenty of what Remus had always wanted to give: warmth, caring and a loving family.

A loving family was what the boy really needed, for those first few days with Harry and finding out just how he had lived his life prior to Remus saving him had really tested Remus' self control; it was all he could do not to go back to that house on Privet Drive and Curse the hell out of those disgusting Muggles that had mistreated his boy so badly...

For every time he had shouted, whether from burning his hand when he attempted cooking or cheering on a game on the telly, Harry would flinch horribly and almost immediately stop what he was doing, falling over himself in his need to apologize. It made Remus sick to the stomach at the thought of how Harry had lived his life, being so scared of everything.

Another thing that proved that Remus was, by nature, a peaceful, even-tempered man was what had happened when he had first tried hugging Harry; he had wrapped his arms around the small frame and had been unpleasantly shocked when the boy had tightened his body up almost immediately, causing several things to pop. Remus was so afraid Harry was going to hurt himself tensing up like that, he nearly dropped the boy in his haste to release him.

From then on, he never tried to embrace Harry on his own, he instead let Harry initiate the touching; only giving him an occasional, brief, one-armed hug around the shoulders or a quick pat on the head when he did something he had been trying so hard to accomplish, like when Harry finally learned how to use the loo. He didn't want to push his affections on a little boy that rarely felt it in his short time at his Aunt's.

Then came that day, that glorious, wondrous, summer day, when two-year-old Harry had ran down the stairs after Remus had called him for breakfast, clad only in his striped pajama bottoms because he was still trying to learn how to dress himself, and wrapped his skinny arms around Remus' legs for no reason at all and called him, for the very first time-

"Daddy?" Looking down at Harry **still** wrapped around his legs, he saw that he had been absorbed in his past thoughts for too long, the endearing sparkle that he oh-so-adored in those bright green eyes had faded into a dim fear that his feelings for his father weren't reciprocated.

Kneeling in front of the small child that could make him feel all-powerful and completely worthless at the same time, that had given him a reason to keep on living when he was at the lowest point in his life, Remus John Lupin wrapped Harry James Potter in his arms and felt those tiny fists clench tightly, trustingly, to him as he gently squeezed his son and whispered, "I love you too, cub, I love you too."

_A/N; Yeah, yeah, I know. I should be working on __A Light in the Dark__, __I Am Lord Voldemort__ or my many other Harry Potter fics, but this one was a challenge and I do so love challenges!_

_As always, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me, I'm just borrowing this universe._


	2. Unexpected Visitors

**Chapter One: Unexpected Visitors**

Seven-year-old Harry Potter-Lupin ran through the massive woods surrounding his Daddy Remus' house, easily dodging around and out pacing the other children that were chasing after him as he made his way to the tallest tree in the whole wood. Living there all his life made these forests almost like his second home, so finding the massive oak in the middle of the woods was an easy enough feat and as soon as he made it to the base, Harry immediately started climbing to the highest branch that was sturdy enough and nested there, barely making it in time before the crowd following him crashed nosily through the underbrush beneath him minutes later.

"I win again," Harry called down idly, drawing the children's attention to the fact that he was now several hundred feet above them, and had done so in mere minutes time. Swaying rhythmically in the breeze, alight on the branch as gracefully as if he had been born amid the clouds and sky, Harry sat down and sighed as the events he was running from caught up with him. "That's three times in a row today..."

"No fair, Lupin, bad form!" The leader of the pack, a freckled faced redhead that was about his age, shouted up to him as the rest of his friends finally caught up, panting, wheezing and heaving, behind him. One kid even flipped Harry the bird as he caught up, "You had a head start, that's the only reason you beat us!"

A few of the others surrounding him called out various forms of agreement, some more violently then others; while the majority of them took a less direct approach, mainly in the form of passing out face first on the grass under their feet.

Harry wasn't listening to the indignant cries of his playmates, he was too busy trying to come to terms with all he had seen and had been told that morning,-was it really only that morning? It seemed so long ago.-to placate his many friends' easily bruised egos. To have all that information dumped on him at once... It had been a bit overwhelming to say the least, life altering at the most and Harry wasn't sure **what** he should be feeling at the moment, or if he should feel anything other than shock at all...

"Hey, Harry, what's wrong with you?" His friend's worried voice was almost carried away by the sudden breeze that sprung up as he continued to call up to Harry, "You alright up there, mate? Wait... You're not going to jump from there, are you?!?"

Sweeping his arm out in a lazy wave that assuaged the redhead's fears, Harry Potter-Lupin drifted off into the events that brought him up into the tree's highest reaches as he tried to sort out what he was feeling about the whole mess, the group beneath him also quieting as they innately picked up on his reflective mood...

_He had been about to enter the living room after just walking up from his third dream in a row about grand adventures and exotic places, his excitement about the trip that his Dad had been planning for them for a couple of days now bleeding over to his dreams and making them even more magical than before, only to stop short at the sight that had greeted his shocked eyes:_

_Standing in the room directly in front of him, with their backs facing him, had been three older men that were dressed in what looked like long, flowing robes, like the ones he had read wizards wore in his Daddy's books. A moment's thought at how strange it was for these men to be wearing that kind of outfit in the middle of a summer heatwave crossed Harry's mind as he studied the strange men in his house._

_ The man that had been closest to him had been a bald, black man that was at least a foot taller than his Dad and he wore a deep purple robe that flowed behind him like a cape. He seemed to be unnecessarily edgy being in Harry's house and, when he suddenly spotted Harry hovering in the doorway, his mouth fell open in silent shock. After a moment or two, he closed it and turned his gaze back to the room at large, allowing Harry to let out a breath he didn't know he been holding and do the same._

_The man in the middle of the room was easily the tallest person Harry would ever meet, he was so tall his head had almost touched the house's high domed ceiling! He had a friendly looking face that was completely covered in hair, except for two bright, beetle black eyes that surveyed the scene in front of him with a worried air. He didn't worry Harry as much as the other two and he was different from the other men in that he wore an enormous overcoat that seemed to be made of several animal furs and Harry could've sworn that he heard __squeaking__ coming from one of the man's many pockets that covered his coat before Harry turned his attention to the last newcomer._

_The last man had stood at the far side of the room, half eclipsed in shadow, clad in deep sapphire robes with navy eyes hidden behind half-moon spectacles that rested on a nose that looked like it had been broken at least once and his lips were pursed into a deep frown. He looked very, very old, with long, white hair and a bread that fell past what looked to be his knees, although it was kind of hard to tell under the robe..._

_All of this Harry had taken in almost instantaneously, but the sight that both shocked and scared him the most was that his Dad, who had never raised his hand to him in his entire life, had been pointing a narrow stick at the old man's face and looked like he was attacked only moments before; the arm that wasn't holding the stick was hanging limply at his side and Harry had seen a line of blood dripping from it onto the floor, instantly making him see red and the only thing that kept him from bursting out of his hiding spot was the tone his Daddy Remus used with the men._

_Well, only __**one**__ man in particular._

_"Get the __**hell**__," Dad's shaky grip on the stick tightened as the old man took a step forward, hands upward but a definite note of annoyance on his face, "out of my house, Dumbledore, and stay the hell away from me and my son. I don't __**want**__, __**need**__, or __**ask**__ you here, so get the fuck out!"_

_"Really, Remus, I had no idea Harry was __**your**__ son. I was under the impression he belonged to James and Lily Potter," The old man eyes had narrowed into slits behind his glasses, Harry guessed that this was Dumbledore, as he kept walking toward Dad, even though he looked like he was ready to fly off the handle. Harry had never seen his father mad like this, even when he accidentally scratched up Dad's brand new car with his bike's handlebars when he was five. "Besides, I doubt that this is anyway to treat a guest in your home."_

_Dad let out a short, harsh laugh that had all the hairs on the back of Harry's neck raising and made him worry for the older man's health, "__**Guest**__? Guest means I invited you in, Dumbledore, or that I even __**wanted**__ you here. You just bashed in here and started firing hexes at me until you realized I had a wand and could defend myself. If that's your definition of 'guest', remind me never to visit __**your**__ home."_

_"Albus," the bald man intoned, his voice reminding Harry of the gravel sliding down the hills he had played on as he saw the man's gaze dart his way before returning his gaze to the two men minutes away from blows in front of him, "I think you should know that-"_

_"Not now, Kingsley," The man called Dumbledore interrupted sharply, barely sparing the bald man a glance, before returning his penetrating gaze to Dad Remus and immediately, unknowingly lowering himself in Harry's eyes. "Enough of this nonsense and side-stepping the question, Remus, just tell us where Harry is and this will all be much less painful."_

_These odd men wanted him? Why, what had he done? Harry tried to remember any past misdeeds he might have done before his attention was brought back to his father as he started to speak again._

_Dad's voice held even more anger as he hissed at Dumbledore, sounding almost serpentine as he asked, "Why, Albus? So you can send him back to that horrid house and those walking wastes of oxygen and blood? Do you even __**know**__ what kind of life he had living there?!?"_

_His 'wand' started to shoot sparks as he recounted one of the worst times in Harry's life. "It was so bad, the very first time I tried to hug him, to show him he was loved, he tensed up so much you could have used him for a tuning fork! Every time I yelled, shouted, or even cheered at something, he cringed like he thought __**he**__ was at fault and I was going to hit him! Hell, when I saved him from that 'home' you stuck him in, the mother was about to threaten to __**beat**__ Harry if he touched her son's toys! His__** damn toys**__, Albus!"_

_Daddy Remus had taken a deep breath and had stared at Dumbledore, who Harry was liking less and less, with the kind of look that always told Harry he was in big trouble. "__**You **__put him in that environment, Dumbledore, __**you**__ let those people stomp upon a good, decent child, the only remainder of James and Lily we have, and I will __**not **__let you do so again!"_

_Kingsley and the other man were now looking at Dumbledore as if __**he**__ was the one they should be questioning and the giant man even pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose with sound of a trumpet as he cried, "Poor Harry, thems sound like the worst sort of Muggles!"_

_Harry was slightly shocked that the giant knew his name, not to mention confused as to what a 'Muggle' was, as his father nodded at the man. "They were, Hagrid. I thank Merlin every single day that I got Harry out of there before any __**permanent**__ damage was done to the poor boy!"_

_Long moments went by as Kingsley comforted the giant Hagrid, who was still crying into his handkerchief, as Dad and Dumbledore glare daggers at each other with the 'wand' Dad still had in Dumbledore's face. Looking at the two of them standing there like that, Harry was suddenly reminded of the story Daddy Remus told him when they visited the grave of Daddy James and Mommy Lily. He had wiped the tears off of his face and looked Harry in the eye before solemnly stating:_

**They died saving you from one of the evilest men the world knew, may ever know. They sacrificed their futures to make sure you had a life without fear or war. They loved you, Harry, with all their hearts and soul. You were their greatest gift and they would do it all over again if it gave you a chance at a future. Never forget them, Harry, never forget them...**

_**Dumbledore was going to leave me with people that hated me and wanted to hurt me... **__Harry vaguely remembered a violet faced man and a tall, horsey faced woman that always seemed to be holding a blob of some sort, that apparently was her son. That must be the 'Muggles' Dad saved him from. __**Does that make him almost as bad as the man my Mom and Dad James fought?**_

_Finally, after several moments where Daddy Remus seemed seconds away from blasting Dumbledore's face in, Dumbledore broke the staring contest with Harry's father as the giant Hagrid regains control of his tears. "I will only ask this of you politely one more time, Remus, then I will no longer act as a friend in your home; where is Harry?"_

_"I'm right here, old man," Harry's statement caused all three adults to whip around and stare at him in surprise as he walked through the doorway and for his Daddy Remus to stare at him with a mixture of pride, fear and exasperation. Harry gave him an apologetic smile as he planted himself defiantly beside his father, unable to understandably explain that, after losing one Dad, he doesn't want to lose another._

_ Fixing the intruders with a suspicious glare, he noticed that Kingsley and Hagrid are looking at him in quiet amazement and Dumbledore is flat out infuriated. Focusing most of his seven-year-old glare on the older man, his next words caused all three of them to lose control of their jaws in amazement._

_"What are you doing to my Dad?!?"_

"Hey, Harry!" A sudden, shriller voice cut through his thoughtful musings and almost had him falling out of the tree, his quick reflexes the only thing saving him from falling to the forest floor, "You've been awful quiet; did you fall asleep up there?"

Looking down from his perch, Harry saw that the sky had darkened considerably and that most of the kids he had been playing with had left, probably to dinner. The only ones left were the redheaded boy that had called out to him earlier, another redhead, a girl, that had called out to him **this** time, and a blonde that was picking daisies at the base of his tree, completely unconcerned with what was going on around her.

Struck by a sudden thought that came to him as abruptly as his need to climb the tree he was now sitting in and was quickly considering making it his new home, Harry called down to the trio below him, 'Hey! What do you guys know about wizards?"

The redheads shared a look that went by too quick for Harry to understand before the brother looked back up at Harry and asked, "What d'you mean 'what do we know about wizards'? Are you alright, mate? Did you hit your head climbing up there?"

Harry was dying to talk to **someone**, **anyone**, about everything that he had been told that morning before being asked to go outside 'so that the grown-ups could have a moment and talk'. He had been reluctant to do so at first, not wanting to leave his Daddy Remus alone with Dumbledore, but had complied when the older men swore that they weren't going to 'steal' his father away.

Dumbledore had always scrunched his face up whenever Harry had called his Daddy Remus 'father' or 'daddy' and Harry decided that he would use the phrase more often while he was around. His Daddy Remus didn't seem to mind that every other word his cub spoke was 'dad', 'pa' or 'father'. As a matter of fact, he seemed to pick up on what his cub was doing and gave him a huge grin of encouragement.

"I mean what I said; what do you guys know about wizards?" Harry reiterated, coming back to the here and now, praying that one of his friends would know what he was talking about as he started his decent ot of the tree, but unable to tell them due to a Statue of Secrecy. "Do you think there might be... real ones out there?"

This time the redheads shared a look Harry knew all too well, a look he had seen multiple times when his dad would let him sleepover with their bumbling, slightly klutzy, but really nice neighbor every few weeks; they were considering how much to tell him, or whether they should tell him anything at all. Harry was on the verge of telling them to forget it, that he had his answer, when the blonde spoke up, her soft voice surprisingly carrying almost all the way up the tree as Harry continued to climb down.

"My father always told me stories about wizards and witches; when and how they're called, where they were trained and where they practice, some of the jobs they have, and even some of the magical creatures they have. Do you want to hear them? He's thinking about turning them in a series of books for children. They're very good..."

Harry hesitated on one of the lower branches; he had heard her father talk before and had even visited their house on one of the days that his Daddy Remus 'wasn't feeling well' and their klutzy neighbor had been too busy with work to watch him. He wasn't sure if he should believe the man who thought the wire hanger segment his daughter found in the woods was the skeleton of a rare type of wolverine...

The girl didn't seem to be picking up on his skepticism, even though the other two could see it on his face from where they stood as he finally dropped to the forest floor, nor did she wait for an answer before starting headlong into her explanation:

"He told me it all starts when you're really little and you don't have full control over the powerful magic inside you. You start turning things into birds or bats and start seeing unicorns in the forest..."

She had Harry's complete attention right after that sentence and he could only stand there and listen in shocked joy, and Ron and Ginny Weasley in absolute horror, as Luna Lovegood told him, in almost complete tandem with Dumbledore, what he had learned that morning.

**A/N: Well, here is chapter two and for those of you who want the challenge details, go to PadyandMoony's profile and they're listed right there.**

**Up next:**

**We see how Severus is coping...**

**A Malfoy learns of Harry's 'kidnapping'...**


	3. He's Back!

**Chapter Three: He's Back!**

Lucius Malfoy was a man of many means, both physical and substantial, and he used both to his advantage in many of his dealings with the Wizarding World. He was a master at finding who had the weakest resistance against the Galleon's golden tongue, much to his Lord's glee during the War, and had used his hard earned gift to make sure he eluded Azkaban's icy grasp.

It was also why he was one of the first to hear when the whispers of Harry Potter, so-called 'Boy-Who-Lived', was alive and well turned from rumors to actual news.

"Apparently, an old friend o' the family took the boy in and has bin takin' care of him for nigh on ten years," Lucius' latest informant wiped a grimy hand across his mouth, scattering crumbs from the meal Lucius purchased across the table before he gulped down a mouthful of the ale in his mug, spilling it into his beard as he continued, "I jus' heard from some Muggles that live nearby that they saw Dumbledore hisself-'course they dinnea know it was Dumbledore that was a visitin'-enter the boy's home and got to wonderin' why theys suddenly got visitors in all the time theys been livin' there..."

Lucius sniffed, both at the man's disgusting manner and where the source of his 'valuable information' was coming from. "You better have a better source than some lowly Muggles, or the cost of this conversation won't just be a meal."

Swallowing down the lump that suddenly sprang up in his throat, the informant quickly added, "A-a few others-**Magical**, others-saw Dumbledore later and he was in a right fit o' mind, fretting on whether the Potter boy was 'safe' or no..."

With a final sneer, Lucius rose from the table, throwing a few Galleons on its worn surface as he warned darkly, "You better pray that your information proves true, spy, because I will find you if there is a single word of falsehood... no matter where you hide."

With a sniff of disdain for good measure, Lucian exited the non-descriptive inn, made his way out of Knockturn Alley's dark streets and back onto Diagon, cloak and hood wrapped around his frame so that any nosy half-bloods would not recognize him and start boring questionings for his whereabouts...

As soon as Lucius stepped onto Diagon Alley, he saw something that forced him to reconsider the health expectantly of his informant, as disgusting as the man was...

A haggard looking Remus Lupin was holding the hand of a smallish, mousy haired boy with the helping hand of an equally mousy haired woman that seemed unable to walk a straight line without tripping over her feet, the cobbles under them, or an innocent looking sign along the side of the street; something both Lupin and the boy found extremely humorous, given the uproarious laughter they made was anything to go by. It would have been the perfect family scene if not of two things:

The woman's over the top klutziness easily identified her as Nymphadora Tonks, a shameful recruit to the Auror Office and a statement to how desperate the Ministry of Magic was in the last days of the War, and Lucius had yet to hear of the destitute Lupin having any children, much less marrying anyone...

Therefore, there was only one logical reason Lupin would think to disguise the boy with them and the disgrace to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement: This was obviously the 'family' that Harry had been saddled with when Lily and James Potter died, the one that had Dumbledore wondering if the child was safe or not.

Lucius eyes ran over the group critically, looking for anything that could probably tip the boy's interest in his favor; while their clothes were obviously low scale, they were well made and seemed to fit the boy nicely, unlike the rags he had seen on a family of redheads earlier. The boy was also well fed and seemed to be completely in awe of everything he saw, making the adults with him smile at every gasp of surprise he made.

Wanting to make sure of the facts before he planned anything, Lucius cast a quick Disillusionment Charm upon himself and followed the group as closely as he dared, taking careful pains to mask any sound his feet made, for the Charm may have disguised him but it did not make it so that he could not be heard...

"Come'n, Lupy, you're being paranoid." The woman scoffed, narrowly avoiding tripping over a group of children that happened to be passing by at that moment. "Who wouldn't be thrilled that Harry Potter was alive and walking among them?"

Lucius was quick to swallow his shout of surprise as his suspicions were confirmed and Lupin quickly hushed the woman beside him and hastily looked around to see if anyone had heard her, the boy-now Lucius was **sure** he was Harry Potter, his knowledge allowing him to see through the glamour-looking between the two with a worried expression.

As Lupin was making sure that no one was drawn by the shout, Lucius took another look at the boy now that the Glamour Charm was no longer impairing his vision; the boy was still scrawny, having black hair instead of a mousy brown, and there, barely hidden by the fringe of his bangs, was Harry Potter's legendary lightning bolt scar.

Lucius had barely enough time to take this all in before Lupin all but dragged the woman into a shop off the side of the street, Harry being pushed along in front of them and Lucius following silently behind.

"**Because**, Tonks, I don't want the boy gawked at like damn exhibit in a zoo! He'll have enough of that in school, I want his last few days as a Muggle to be as normal as possible..."

"Alright, Lupy," The Auror replied, tripping over a pile of books that had the clerk of the store yelling at her as she moved back onto Diagon Alley's main street, almost running over Lucius on her way out. "Alright, we'll do it your way..."

Nodding, Lupin paused a moment to give the boy standing next to him a small smile which was hesitantly returned after a few minutes thought. "Now, let's go over this one last time, just so we know we got it down; what is your name?"

"Harold Lupin, and I'm a nephew from a unheard of little sister on your father's side," was the almost immediate reply, making Lucius believe that this was a heavily rehearsed conversation and that the answers were also heavily rehearsed as well.

"Correct. Now, why are we here?"

"School supplies and robes for my first year at Hogwarts," A small hand brushed through its owner's bangs, making Lucius strongly believe 'Harold Lupin' was nervous about their little outing. Lupin noticed as well, for he gave the boy a reassuring pat on the head before he continued.

"When people mention V-Voldemort?" Lupin quickly asked, shocking Lucius with his ability to say the Dark Lord's name. Many of those in the Dark Lords inner circle still had a fear of that name.

"I twitch and act like I'm scared," 'Harold' responded promptly, giving a good enough twitch that even Lucius would have believed it if he did not already know the entire thing was scripted.

"And if anyone asks you...?"

"I've never heard of Harry Potter..." The little boy's face twisted for a few seconds before he suddenly burst out, "Daddy Remus, why do I have to lie about who I am? Why can't I tell people the truth?"

Lupin rubbed a weary hand through his hair, before giving 'Harold' a strained smile. "It's like I told Auntie Tonks, people are going to be gawking enough at you in school, I just want you to have a few last normal days before all of that..."

"Okay..." The boy still sounded uncertain, Lucius was curious if anyone had ever told him exactly **why** he was so famous: That he was the only one that survived both the Killing Curse and an encounter with the Dark Lord, not mention they happened at the **exact same time**!! "I understand... Can I get a broom here, anyway?"

Lupin laughed aloud at that, surprising Lucius enough to send him stumbling backwards at the sound. "Sorry, cub, but First Years aren't allowed brooms, says so right on your form. You're going to have to wait until Second Year before trying out for the Quidditch team."

"Awww, **please**...?" The child's tone turned pleading, looking up at his 'father' with the wide-eyed expression that it seemed all children that age used; even Draco had used it on Lucius a time or too, to a surprising percent of efficiency, "I'll hide it from everybody, or I'll say I'm holding it for a friend! Please, please, please..."

Lucius followed the chuckling pair as they walked down the street and back to the woman who was now looking at them if they had lost their minds, eyes open for any sign that would somehow drop this very golden bauble into much more worthy hands...

* * *

Severus Snape sat at a bar, staring glumly at the bottom of his glass and wondering why it was empty, what happened to that lovely brown liquid that warmed him up from head to toe, made him feel as if his whole world wasn't broken into a thousand tiny pieces, all gathered around the empty cavity in his chest that used to house his heart...

The scrapping of a chair next to him brought Severus only halfway out of his haze; he squinted his eyes just enough to recognize the spectacles staring at him and the crooked nose that they rested upon, before he burrowed his head in his arms in a vain attempt to blocked out the rest of the world, starting with the man sitting next to him.

"G'way, Albus," Severus knew he sounded more like a petulant child than the grand Potions Master that he was, but at that point in his life, he just didn't care. He just wanted to drown in his sorrows until he passed out into blissful, dreamless sleep.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Severus," Albus Dumbledore replied, brushing off the table in front of him like he was seated at the Head Table in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, "You and I have things we need to discuss..."

"No!" Severus barked, scaring several of the bar's patrons as he wobbled on his stool, "No, Albus, I don't want to hear any more about your 'plans' or 'schemes' or 'reasons to make someone a better man', I've already listened to that tripe once before and **now** look where it got me-"

"Harry Potter is alive."

This time Severus really did fall of his stool, but he didn't bother to get back up; he simply stared at Albus, who was looking down at him with a perfectly serene expression, as if he didn't just deliver news that had just rocked Severus' world on its hinges.

"What did you say?" Severus asked, disbelief and hope warring for dominance in his tone, so much that Dumbledore gave a puzzled look, reminding himself just exactly who e was talking to, "Potter's brat is still breathing?"

Albus' eyes narrowed at Severus and Severus' heart rate gradually returned to normal as Albus' enunciated, "**Yes**, Severus, Harry Potter is alive and well, currently in the care of one of your school friends, one that you shared with James Potter."

Lily was gone, Peter had been blasted into little bits, and Sirius was in Azkaban, so that left... Severus' heart, which had finally slowed down, quickly sped up again as another revaluation hit him in the chest at full force: "Harry is with Remus?"

"I find it heartening that you are referring to both Harry and Remus by their given names, Severus," Albus responded with a smile, not knowing how badly his words were affecting the Potions Master.

"Well, don't get used to it," Severus grumbled, hefting himself back into his seat and was lifting his arm to order another drink when Albus stopped it with a had on his wrist.

"I don't think more alcohol is a good idea, Severus..."

Turning his gaze to Albus, Severus was just about to tell the man exactly where he could put his ideas when Dumbledore cut across him. "I want you to come back to Hogwarts as the Potions teacher."

"Yeah, and I want my life to be made out of bloody rainbows and sunshine," Severus snarled, jerking his arm out of Dumbledore's grasp and signaling a refill, which he drowned half of in one swallow, "Disappointment abounds..."

Shaking his head, Albus got up from his stool and looked down his nose at Severus, his eyes devoid of their familiar 'twinkle', as most people called it. "What happened to you, Severus? What happened to that bright man I once knew and respected?"

Severus raised his glass in a mockery of a salute, "You happened to me, old man, you and your damned 'greater good'... Forgive me if I can't live with the consequences of that..."

Shaking his head, Albus left once more, leaving Severus to the voices that had been plaguing him for almost twelve years...

"_Well, it's more the fact that he __**exists**__, if you know what I mean..."_

_ "I didn't want James to bother you any more, we got into a fight and I think I'm friendless again..."_

_ "What I do is none of your damn business, __**Snivellus**__!!"_

_ "Thank you, for talking to him, even though I know you hate his guts..."_

_ "Look, Moony seems to think you're an okay guy, but I swear to Merlin, if you even __**think**__ about hurting him..."_

Damn them, damn them and their inability to leave him alone, to just let him crawl into a hole and die like he wanted. Like he deserved...

Their were pictures with the voices now, shattered memories that he would rather forget, rather never have happened...

_James Potter is standing at his doorway, drenched to the skin and looking so lost that Severus can't find it in himself to summon up the hate, the need to sneer at him like normal, and that frightens him almost as much as the words that come from Potter's mouth._

_ "A group of Death Eaters... They just came out of nowhere... They jumped me and Kingsley half a block from Headquarters... Lily heard and tried to help... I was knocking Amycus Carrow out with a Stunner when I heard Lily scream... When I turned around... They... She..."_

_ Severus could feel the dread coiling in his stomach, telling him to lash out at Potter, demand to know why he hadn't taken better care of his wife, but the need to find out where she was taken overrode all of that. "Did you recognize any of them?"_

_ Potter nodded numbly and uttered one word, "Avery." before the shock finally hit him and he collapsed into a chair Severus had conjured as soon as he saw Potter start to crumple._

_ Severus nodded, before going to his bedroom and starting to pack provisions for the attempt to save Lily Potter before the thugs that took her made it back to Voldemort._

_ "What's going on? What's with the rucksack?" His rustlings had awoken his companion, who was now looking at him through sleepy toffee colored eyes, "Why are you leaving, Severus?"_

_ The last bit was said so dejectedly, that Severus felt an uncommon burst of compassion that had him crossing the room to give his lover a searing kiss that had them both panting when he pulled away._

_ "Lily has been captured, Potter is in the kitchen, and I need to find whoever took her before the Dark Lord is informed." Severus explained in a rush, grabbing up his satchel and heading to the door, his spirits lifting a little at the flabbergasted expression on his companions face, "I need you to stay here and make sure that Potter doesn't do anything... rash."_

_ He left the bedroom and headed out toward the front door, needing to get past the wards to Apparate. Potter being allowed through without any kind of Vow or spell had taken some very convincing persuasion on his lover's part, which had led to Severus eagerly agreeing to being persuaded much more often..._

_ Speaking of Potter, he must have caught sight of the other occupant of the house, if the choked gasp and the completely flummoxed, "__**Moony?**__" were anything to go by._

The images were becoming too much, so Severus took another swallow of his drink, hoping to dull them back to just voices again, instead it just made everything more **sharp**.

He could taste the fear he felt when he finally caught up to Avery and his gang, hoping against hope that nothing had happened to Lily that he couldn't immediately heal... Thankfully, fear of their Dark Lord had kept their hands to themselves and it had only taken a few well placed words, a Stunner or two, and he and Lily where running through the woods, wards the only thing keeping them from simply Apparating away.

Lily was utterly hysterical, crying and clinging to Severus like a drowning man in a lifeboat, fraying Severus' already stretched nerves with the fear that they had hit her with something during the fight that was making her act so out of character...

It wasn't until later that Severus found out that it was her first fight against the Dark Lord and that she had been hit with the doubt that she would someday mess up so badly that everyone she loved would die. If he had known that, maybe what had transpired next would never have happened.

The large quantity of heavy alcohol Severus consumed was finally working and the images had finally faded back to just voices as darkness nipped at the edges of Severus' vision.

_"Make me forget, Severus, please... Make me forget that we narrowly escaped with our lives, that I might be more of a liability than I thought... Make me forget that this war even exists..."_

He had... He had helped her forget without a need for spell or charm, knowing that both of them had others that loved them and were waiting for them back home... and it wasn't until Lily announced that she was pregnant three weeks later that he felt guilty for it.

**A/N: Poor Snape! That part just totally took over when I was writing it, it wasn't even planned!!**

**Up next:**

**'Harold' meets Draco and learns a few things about pure-bloods...**

**Snape decides if he wants to go back to Hogwarts...**


End file.
